Halifax Day 2

 
   
    Grave of unknown child

 
  Yes, there really was a Jack Dawson

               Just a number   

 

 

  Check out the size of this canon

                Inside the Citadel grounds

Today we took the bus tour, started at 8:30 AM and got back here at 4:30 PM. We had to get some dog sitters in to take the 'kids' out at noon.

We started off touring the city of Halifax, nothing spectacular there. Then we went to the Halifax Citadel. Now that was very interesting. This is a citadel/fort that was built on a natural hillside which made it a extremely difficult fort to attack. In fact it never was. They have re enactments going on all the time with military troops. It sits on a hill overlooking Halifax harbour which was extremely important for defence.

 

Then we headed for the cemetery when 200 people who died when the Titanic went down are buried. After she sank several ships from Halifax headed out with Chaplin's aboard to pick up the bodies. They apparently found 316 bodies and as all they had room for on the ships was 200 bodies, they buried 116 at sea and the rest they brought back to Halifax. They identified who they could, and took pertinent information about those they couldn't and buried them. Many headstones, just have the date and a number. Over the years several more have been identified as families started supplying more information. As they were identified some families changed the original headstone and put up a more elaborate one. One marker there is for a 2 year boy. The sailors who picked up his body were so deeply touched by his death that they put up a special marker for him. It was thought that he belonged to a woman, Alma Paulson, who drowned along with her 4 children but DNA tests proved that not to be so. So there he rests nameless. Sad. Then there is the grave of Jack Dawson. For you Titanic movie fans you will recognize the name. Apparently there really was a Jack Dawson and the reason they used his name for the movie is that he had no next of kin, nothing, so they could use his name and not have to worry about any copyrights. He did work on the ship and his position was the lowest on the ship, he would keep the piles of coal level as they were used so that the loads were balanced. The shape of how all the stones are laid out is like a keel of a ship. Tomorrow we are going to the Maritime Museum where they have artefacts from the Titanic.

Headstones shaped like a keel of a ship

 

Then we headed to Peggy's Cover for lunch and site seeing. What a pretty spot. Lovely. The population is only 40 and they still are fishing lobster for a living. The spot is loaded with tourists which does spoil it a bit, but they are trying very hard not to let it get too touristy. Any gift shops (and there are only a few) are owned and run by locals, same as the restaurant. They do not allow any other tourist traps there, no gas stations, nothing. The whole area is still owned by the residents. So that at least keeps it from becoming tacky. Unfortunately, the famous Peggy's Cove lighthouse is under going a face lift so it's covered with scaffolding. It's a beautiful spot though and enjoyed the visit immensely.